I have this theory that I have an aura around me, which let's people know that I can just be screwed around with when it comes to queueing ... .
It all started in England, where peoples' national sport seems to be queueing. They are proud, pendantic and super uptight about it. I guess, if you don't have other issues to worry about in life, one can understand that they must waste their time with something as livechanging as queueing.
The English eventually landed in India, where the Indians kept saying "yes yes" *headshake* to the English way of queueing, but ended up doing their own thing anyway. GO INDIA! Advantage of this queueing style is that no one ever gets angry at you while queueing. Looking at this picture below, you may think that this is not actually a queue and no effort goes into making this bunch of people look the way they are set up, but BELIEVE ME it takes a lot of skill to get from the very right of that picture to the very left and still get what you want in time ... In time? Oh but wait. An Indian "5 minutes" can take anywhere from 2 minutes to 3 hours. Then how?
Either countries are nuts when it comes to queueing. Then there is Germany, who's queueing habits are very much in the middle of the 2. We love queueing, it's important, we all do it, but when a new counter opens among let's say 20 counters, it's first come - first serve! You are too slow? You'll be second one in line. They only time we do get angry at you and when we will complain is when you very obviously chuck urself at the cashier point. The only time we do ask "is this the end of the line?" is when there is no obvious line. Clear (obviously, because I grew up with it too).
Australia is yet a mystery to me. It sometimes seems to me that people pretend to be super organized when it comes to queueing but other times they just don't know how to behave (according to German standards anyway *cultural differences*). It appears to me that they are trying to make up for the lack of discipline that's apparent in other areas of life/society, when participating in some UNIMPORTANT activity, such as queueing.
I am constantly, always in the wrong queue, doing the wrong thing, looking the wrong way and for all I know, my nose is a distraction too. Bottomline, an Aussi will ALWAYS complain about my queueing. I would understand this precision about queueing, if order was evident throughout all areas of life, but since this attention to detail seems so out of order here I very frankly failing to show respect.
Singapore queueing is pretty clear most of the time too, except the kiasu that gets in the way every now and then, which can be annoying. Such as on the day that I am standing in this line to get a coffee.
1 line, 2 counters. CLEAR! The first in line gets to go to the nearest empty counter. So I'm standing in line and these 2 people are in front of me, it's their turn, they pick the counter on the right. In the meantime the cashier behind the left counter waves me over to order, so I start walking over, I open my mouth and am about to order, when the chick (who just previously picked the right counter) barged in and pushed in front of me. So I give her a look and she starts getting super angry. Giving me this really bitchy look. So I said "Didn't you just start ordering over there???" and she says something along the lines of how she was first so she gets to order first so I was like I am aware of the rules, but you ALREADY STARTED ORDERING at the OTHER counter. Thankfully the cashier finally resolved it. What a bitch. Seriously.
I'm giving up. Personally I am most comfi with the German way of queueing and the Indian style. I understand the constant kiasu flavour in the Singaporean way of queueing, but appreciate the militant exactitude, with which it is applied to somehow everything. The Australian way of queueing? *Lack of words*
Bottomline, if you happen to go out with me soon, please feel free to do the ordering, I shall fight over a table in the meantime, where no queueing is required!
All this confusion and talk about queueing? I needed it.
Either countries are nuts when it comes to queueing. Then there is Germany, who's queueing habits are very much in the middle of the 2. We love queueing, it's important, we all do it, but when a new counter opens among let's say 20 counters, it's first come - first serve! You are too slow? You'll be second one in line. They only time we do get angry at you and when we will complain is when you very obviously chuck urself at the cashier point. The only time we do ask "is this the end of the line?" is when there is no obvious line. Clear (obviously, because I grew up with it too).
Australia is yet a mystery to me. It sometimes seems to me that people pretend to be super organized when it comes to queueing but other times they just don't know how to behave (according to German standards anyway *cultural differences*). It appears to me that they are trying to make up for the lack of discipline that's apparent in other areas of life/society, when participating in some UNIMPORTANT activity, such as queueing.
I am constantly, always in the wrong queue, doing the wrong thing, looking the wrong way and for all I know, my nose is a distraction too. Bottomline, an Aussi will ALWAYS complain about my queueing. I would understand this precision about queueing, if order was evident throughout all areas of life, but since this attention to detail seems so out of order here I very frankly failing to show respect.
Singapore queueing is pretty clear most of the time too, except the kiasu that gets in the way every now and then, which can be annoying. Such as on the day that I am standing in this line to get a coffee.
1 line, 2 counters. CLEAR! The first in line gets to go to the nearest empty counter. So I'm standing in line and these 2 people are in front of me, it's their turn, they pick the counter on the right. In the meantime the cashier behind the left counter waves me over to order, so I start walking over, I open my mouth and am about to order, when the chick (who just previously picked the right counter) barged in and pushed in front of me. So I give her a look and she starts getting super angry. Giving me this really bitchy look. So I said "Didn't you just start ordering over there???" and she says something along the lines of how she was first so she gets to order first so I was like I am aware of the rules, but you ALREADY STARTED ORDERING at the OTHER counter. Thankfully the cashier finally resolved it. What a bitch. Seriously.
I'm giving up. Personally I am most comfi with the German way of queueing and the Indian style. I understand the constant kiasu flavour in the Singaporean way of queueing, but appreciate the militant exactitude, with which it is applied to somehow everything. The Australian way of queueing? *Lack of words*
Bottomline, if you happen to go out with me soon, please feel free to do the ordering, I shall fight over a table in the meantime, where no queueing is required!
All this confusion and talk about queueing? I needed it.
-Out-
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment